Boss on Paper, Worker in Reality? [Newstory]

Recently, a court delivered its first final ruling recognizing the employee status of a delivery rider. The court concluded that rider A was subject to the company's direction and supervision, taking into account the structure through which work is performed via apps, the compensation system set by the company, and restrictions on dispatch decision-making.
This ruling concerned a specific delivery agency case. However, riders working in the delivery field through apps express similar burdens amid dispatch, unit price, and mission structures. Jeon Seong-bae, a full-time rider in his sixth year whom we met on a sweltering day, was checking delivery locations and order sequences on his app screen. He said that when conscious of point missions (additional rewards) amid extreme heat, he feels burdened even when deciding on break times. Cho Hee-min, a rider in his seventh year, complained, "As unit prices (delivery fees) gradually decrease, we end up working for long hours." Cho added, "Although the basic delivery fee, which was once around 3,000 won, has dropped to the 2,000-won range, it is hard to fully understand how delivery fees per transaction are determined," and noted, "Even if a long-distance call comes in, it is difficult to easily turn it down out of concern for potential disadvantages that might follow."
  The situation for other piece-rate workers is not much different from that of delivery riders. Jeong Nan-suk has been working as a private tutor for 30 years. Although she visits an average of 15 households a day, her compensation is measured solely by the number of subjects (cases) she teaches. Jeong states that the time spent on travel and waiting is not reflected in compensation calculations. The time and costs spent on organizing teaching materials, training, and promotional activities after going to work are also entirely borne by the individuals.
Can minimum standards be established for those who are left outside the minimum threshold simply because they are paid based on the number of cases rather than hours worked? A government research service report concluded that applying the minimum wage or minimum compensation is feasible for all six piece-rate occupations, including private tutors and delivery riders. However, as the proposal for the separate application of piece-rate workers was voted down at the Minimum Wage Commission, discussions on introducing the system have hit a snag once again.

  Overseas, minimum compensation and protection standards for platform delivery workers are being established one after another. New York and Seattle in the United States have set minimum payment criteria, and the European Union (EU) has adopted a directive containing the presumption of employment relationships for platform workers. In particular, Australia decided to apply a minimum compensation standard of 31.30 Australian dollars per hour to platform delivery workers starting this month. This amounts to around 30,000 won in Korean currency, which is higher than the statutory minimum wage. Hyun Jin-seok, who works as a delivery rider in Australia, said, "It calculates the time taken from order acceptance to delivery completion, and if the per-item unit price falls short of the minimum compensation standard, the difference is filled in," conveying a positive atmosphere as a safety net has been created to protect the lower limit of earnings even when food preparation delays or traffic congestion occur. What alternatives should our society devise for platform workers?

This week's SBS <Newstory> tracks the workplaces of delivery riders working amid algorithmic dispatches and evaluation structures, and examines the questions that the court's first final ruling recognizing employee status poses to our society and labor market.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.